The Permanent Forum recommends that Member States and the United Nations make additional and more steadfast efforts to collect data and perform research regarding Indigenous Peoples in voluntary isolation and in initial contact and the effects of such data and research. The Forum reiterates its recommendation that the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), in cooperation with regional bodies and Indigenous Peoples, advance the protection of Indigenous Peoples living in voluntary isolation and in initial contact.
The lack of recognition of Indigenous Peoples violates their right to self-determination. Their legal recognition should be aligned with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the report of the Working Group of Experts on Indigenous Populations/Communities of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.1 The Permanent Forum invites African Governments to join groups of friends of Indigenous Peoples.
The Permanent Forum is concerned about the impacts of climate change in the Sahel and Great Lakes regions, which have triggered armed conflicts and displacement, and heightened the vulnerability of Indigenous Peoples. The Forum calls for regional climate action.